George Lucas: Free to follow his muse

Web posted on:
Tuesday, May 11, 1999 5:04:03 PM EST

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Despite the onslaught of negative criticism about the "Star Wars" prequel, director George Lucas is brushing off the naysayers. After all, they've been wrong about him several times before.

Take, for example, "American Grafitti." "The executives at Universal hated the picture," says Peter Bart, publisher of the Daily Variety. "They were very abusive to him about it. They said it wasn't even good enough to be a movie for television."

But lo and behold, that flick is still the most profitable movie Universal ever made.

Just one week before the opening of "The Phantom Menace," CNN Entertainment Correspondent Dennis Michael talked with Lucas about how success has given him the freedom to pursue projects he likes.